See that little button that says “Get Started” in the messenger window? Click it. Then, BAM! I’ll start chatting with you… from the past 😵

Like many business owners, I’ve jumped on the chatbot train. Chatbots allow me to be in two places at once— doing my daily tasks while helping potential customers get their questions answered on Facebook.

I use a chatbot, also known as a messenger bot, on my Facebook page. I anticipated the questions my customers might have and answered them in my own words to set it up. For any questions that can’t be answered by the bot, the messages get sent right to me and I reply ASAP. Now, when customers visit my page they can get help immediately.

Chatbots are AMAZING.

Imagine this:

You have a date tomorrow and you just realized you need a haircut. Like… really need a haircut. Only problem is, you’re stuck in a meeting that’s going to take up the entire afternoon. You can’t exactly make a phone call, can you? So you surreptitiously pull out your phone, hop on Facebook, and check out your local salon. On their page, a messenger bot pops up.

“Hi, how can we help you?” it asks, displaying two options:

Hours & Location

Request an appointment

You tap the latter, and the bot responds immediately with three more options.

Today?

Tomorrow?

I’m flexible.

You tap tomorrow because you want to be looking fresh for your date. The bot responds.

You want an appointment tomorrow. Okay, let me see what we have.

A minute or two goes by then, a response:

“Does 4 PM work?”

Yes

No

You tap yes, and immediately see:

“Great! You are scheduled for 4 PM with Lacie.”

😄 Could it get any easier?

Now, imagine you were on that same page, and no bot popped up. There was no little message asking what you needed help with, no one checking the schedule, no assistance of any kind. Just the usual Facebook page with the hours and some photos. Would you have been able to book an appointment, silently, in three minutes flat?

Or would that salon have missed a major opportunity to book a new client?